By Sarah Stancliff
The Olympians” medals will not be all that is golden in Utah in 2002.
The Olympic Arts Festival, also known as the Cultural Olympiad, is gracing the games and adding culture to competition.
“Local and world audiences will be engaged in visual and performing arts events that invite the world community to share in the creativity,” said Olympic Arts Festival Artistic Director Raymond Grant.
The range of exhibitions includes everything from repertory dance to rodeo, with numerous facets of style and enough international flavor to ensure diversity that is as broad as its audience.
For dance gurus still waiting for this years”s chance at a medal, performance groups from across the country will sweep stages in Utah, proving that even without ribbons and gold, they are still part of the Olympic production.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which according to the mission statement, “promotes the uniqueness of black cultural expression”, will present an Olympic Premiere of a work based on the life of Florence Griffith Joyner.
Judith Jamison, award-winning choreographer and Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey, merges what she calls “dance, athleticism, and art” in a new work to celebrate and honor a great American sports hero.
Utah”s own Ririe Woodbury Dance Company seeks to capture “the spirit of the quest for physical excellence at the heart of sport” in its work created especially for the Olympics.
Daniel Ezralow, called “one of the best young American dancer-choreographers” by the Chicago Tribune, said he created the piece in honor of that spirit.
The Pilobolous Dance Theater will also present a specially created piece, which will “reflect the concentration and grace of Olympic athletes” by mixing gymnastics and humor to defy gravity and test human limits in dance.
Pilobolous dancers are featured in a 2002 Olympic Arts Festival poster in which dancers” bodies form the Olympic Rings.
Savion Glover, who made a name for himself as a dancer and choreographer in the Broadway hit, ”Bring in ”Da Noise, Bring in ”Da Funk”, will also premiere a work for Olympic Art Festival guests.
This Tony Award-winner will show his unique performance as he continues to use his feet as musical instruments.
Also scheduled to perform are the Jose Limon Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, American Folk Ballet, Ballet West, and AXIS Dance Company, each with new choreography and an impressive repertoire.
Music lovers will get their events as well, with the best of local tradition coming together with traveled guest artists, as well as renowned visiting ensambles.
Award-winning musicians Sam Cardon and Kurt Bestor, who have composed for National Geographic, IMAX films and the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, pay a musical tribute to the Olympic Movement with ”Keepers of the Flame”.
One piece entitled “All I Heard Was Thunder” depicts the airborne gold-medal run of Franz Klammer in his unforgettable 1976 downhill race.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform for an international audience at home when performing with Frederica von Stade.
A two-time Grammy nominee, Von Stade debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and has since sung at the Met, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and many other leading American theaters.
The golden glow of instruments hues from Utah Symphony performances with guests including Audra McDonald, Elaine Paige, Marcus Roberts, and violin virtuoso Itazhak Perlman.
Also performing will be the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with guests Evelyn Glennie and the King”s Singers; the Utah Youth Symphony; and jazz artists Billy Taylor and Friends.
“We are delighted that Utah”s distinguished cultural institutions will be able to entertain and inspire International audiences during the games,” said SLOC president and CEO Mitt Romney.
For those seeking visual wonders, the Olympic Arts Festival will bring a variety of creative handiwork. “Art is gold that richens the soul,” an unknown poet said, and Utah will be home to a good deal of gold this winter.
Allan Houser is an American Indian Artist, whose works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the British Royal Collection among others.
His sculptures reach nearly twice the size of an average person, sixteen of which will be on exhibit on the grounds of the Salt Lake City and County Building.
Dale Chihuly, who helped elevate glassworking to an art form, has been honored as America”s first National Living Treasure.
His work can be seen in over 180 museums worldwide, as well as projects included in the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas and the Tower of David Museum in Jeruselum. Sixteen new chandeliers will be part of Utah”s display.
Other artistic exhibitions include Quilts Across America, Utah Artists, Brian and Joe Show, Utah”s First Nations, Women Beyond Borders, Discover Navajo, and Greek Antiques.
Though these venues will be considered treasures to many, the cultural has even more to offer than dance, music, and art shows.
The Olympic Command Performance Rodeo: North American Challenge will face off the United States against Canada in individual events featuring “North America”s best cowboys and stock,” according to Colorado cowboy and competitor, Jason McClain.
The Olympic Play Commission Project, Cowboy Poetry, The Favorite Poem Project, Food as Art, and sports filmmaker Bud Greenspan are also all part of the Olympic Arts Festival.
While gold is being won in Olympic events, the Olympic Arts Festival will hold a torch to its contribution to the Olympic experience.
“These programs allow us to celebrate the achievements of artists alongside the accomplishments of athletes,” said Grant.
